The two were arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol after failing to comply with a trooper's order to leave the I-70 overpass at Fairgrounds Road, near exit 229. Resisting arrest was also tacked on in Messmer's case.

The arrest was captured on video and posted to YouTube.

Sergeant Al Nothum told Daily RFT on August 27 that the protest was distracting drivers and causing accidents.

"They were not arrested for protesting. They were arrested for not moving their protest to a safe location," he said at the time.

Asked for his response to news that neither Messmer nor Weed would be prosecuted, Nothum was succinct.

"We respect the decision," he says.

According to Messmer, however, this won't be the last the troopers will be hearing about it. He says he and Weed are planning to sue for unlawful arrest.

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Dick, You my friend are showing your immaturity with all the foul and unpleasant langue you are spewing here. While I respect your right to free speech, you are as offensive as you claim the protestors to be. The facts are... There were protestors on both East and West bound sides of traffic on this overpass to Highway 70. So if the protestors were in fact the traffic issue, why were there no fender benders on the East bound side? Why was there no back up of traffic on this side of any kind? You are wrong! The traffic was caused by the Lane closures and the Festival traffic backing up onto the highway at a dead stop. These are the facts, they are undeniable. If you were not so one sided and looking for others to blame because you sat in traffic you would see the obvious facts in this matter. You are trying to divert the attention off the real subject. That may indicate you are paid to do so? The real fact is that the Arrest was WRONG, You are WRONG for picking at the details instead of the facts! Our Rights are be taken slowly day by day. This should alarm you. People should not be arrested because they say something you don't agree with? Where does that behavior lead? You should back those that defend everyone's rights. Like it or Not the overpass movement is an effective one. More people are reached this way. The membership is growing and people are being made aware of the troubles with this current government.

Now that I know you're one of the overpass protestors, I'm glad to hear from you. It turns out, you're as stupid as I expected these people would be.

I fully support the freedoms we are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. I would proudly get arrested to defend any of them. But you morons were impacting the safety of others by protesting where you chose to protest (The police acknowledge 5 accidents at the protest location during the time of the protest and that the accidents stopped when you idiots left). You don't deserve to use the Gadsden "don't tread on me" rattlesnake in your avatar because your stupidity leaves a bad impression of it. I dislike Obama, but his failures are no justification for yours.

As some one who was there (and who is friends with many of the people on that bridge!) I value my recollection of the events better than your two second drive by. I am also someone who LIVES off the 5th street exit. I know what traffic is NORMALLY like, I know what traffic with the BRIDGE closed is like, then there is FOTLH traffic.

What you "overpass protest" morons don't seem to realize is none of us, for the most part, disagree with your right to protest or your freedom of speech. We disagree with your *choice of location*.

I for one am confident that you're fucking idiots for thinking you're acting responsibly by parading your shenanigans over a busy interstate. Even if I agree with your message, you're still a dick for doing this above a busy interstate. I don't like Obama either. And I do fully support your right to free speech. And just to you know, I'm not petitioning for your rights to be taken away from you so calm down.

I'm merely commenting here to inform you that you really are a bunch of fucking assholes for doing this where you chose to do it. Go somewhere else if you really feel the need to protest.

Here's the key point you need to acknowledge: Billboards don't cause people to slow down and say "what the fuck are these people doing on this overpass?"

I wasn't stuck in traffic because of a billboard (nor was I stuck in traffic because of the festival of the little hills). I was stuck in traffic because you dumbasses were waving (upside down US) flags and being otherwise stupid above a busy interstate. I don't like stupid people enough as it is and now they're hanging out on overpasses of all places...

Thats not trumping the constitution. Their are limits on everything in the Constitution. Free speech is not unlimited. Libel, slander, threats etc. are all illegal. And even if you were to cite the Bill of Rights verbatim, the word "peaceably" comes into question on public property (which the constitution never says you have the right to assemble on) especially when this piece of public property rests over a high accident highway and it has been reported as a disturbance causing further accidents. Public safety takes precedence over individual rights because the rights of the individual end the second that they begin to violate the rights and safety of others. And you did not just call me a statist you fucking libertarian clown.

Cite statues all you wish, but remember those state, city laws never trump the US Constitution. The local cheerleader squad violates those laws when they hold car washes. Should the police drag them to jail? Try thinking about freedom before citing Statism.

As context, something very similar happened back when W was President. Protesters on a bridge near Dogtown were holding anti-Bush signs on the overpass and were forced to leave by the local police. In that case, the protesters weren't arrested, but that's because they left when it became very clear that they would be arrested unless they left. I don't know if holding signs causes accidents; it'd be nice to see some genuine evidence one way or another besides people's opinions. But if those signs are distracting, then wouldn't the giant billboards be as well? Also, this clearly isn't a giant tyrannical conspiracy against conservatives (or against liberals). Basically, if police get a complaint from drivers that say the signs are distracting, they will probably ask people to leave. And if they ask you to leave and you don't listen they will probably arrest you. I'm not saying they're right to do so (this I think depends on the evidence of whether signs really can cause accidents), but it's not a conspiracy.

they werent arrested for protesting, they were arrested for directly disobeying a police officers orders. the police may have been wrong in asking them to stop, but they asked them nonetheless. if the police made a judgement call because they saw it as a threat to public safety, listen and find another way to protest or be arrested. its that simple. there are plenty of other areas they could have protested and be noticed. protest to walkers in a public square, NOT to people driving by at 60mph.

I was by there and people were parked examining their damages. After seeing them holding the American flag upside down, was a little worried the Republicans had gone terrorist on all of us! I mean look at what they keep doing to the affordable care act. Proof of Idiocracy becoming more than just a bad movie. :P

I've seen people hang "Support Our Troops" and "Welcome Home so-and-so" banners for the military and never got distracted. I suspect people are exaggerating because they disagree with the message. If anything, it puts into question whether these particular St Louisans mentioned in the article are qualified to operate motor vehicles on public roads.

I'll give you your desperately sought affirmation and pretend that the Bill of Rights was part of the original intent of the Constitutions writers, as opposed to being afterthoughts that our founders included after the fact but the bottom line is you still haven't explained how (Article 1 of the Constitution I suppose?) Constitutional protections regarding free speech trumps the health and welfare of the citizenry. Nothing. You have one mantra and repeating it all day doesn't make you look like any less of a moron. You're a one note song and you sound off key.

Yes, correct, it is an addition and therefore part of the document. Like if you add a tea bag to a hat ( I don't know why you would do that but go ahead) it is still a hat. Not a fan of Dana or Rush, knock it off with the personal attacks. You don't know me and it just makes you seem stupid because you can't stay on topic or find any real arguments. The bill of rights are part of the constitution. Everyone knows this.

::sigh:: the bill of rights are the first 10 amendments made to the US constitution, which was ratified in 1788. The bill of rights were added soon after (September 1789) and ratified in 1791. The bill of rights are amendments to the constitution and therefore part of the constitution.

Clearly
you are unable to comprehend what I type because I have said several
times that it's not what they have to *say* that I have a problem with
it's their *poor choice of location*.

I'm not a traffic cop, but
the cops who were on the scene reported 5 accidents during that time.
So the person(s) you need to ask about that would be the police.

I
was not stuck in traffic because of lane closures. The traffic cleared
after the overpass for no reason but that we passed them.

There
was more traffic in town in general, that I'll grant you. But the reason
we were stop and go on the highway was because of these idiots. I WAS THERE. I'm reporting the scene from a first person perspective as a motorist that day. I thought there was an accident. There was not an accident, just
idiots on the overpass.

I'm not impressed with the baseless value you place on your biased recollection.

The
entire reason I posted here was because I was stuck in the traffic these
idiots caused. Not for any other reason.

You're posting here
because you're friends with these morons. Thus it is you who have a bias
one way or the other and it is that bias which influences your stance
on the matter; you're here to defend them.

I lived in Saint Chuck for 20 years and I know
what the traffic is like as well. I also traveled that area with the
bridge closed before and after this incident. You can keep telling me
what you want me to believe but it doesn't change the facts.

As
an experienced traveler of I-70 and Saint Charles in general I'm telling
you (and these idiots) that I was stuck in a mile or two of stop and go
traffic because of them and it pissed me off. I thought there was an
accident. It was a waste of time and my time is money. I don't care if
you believe me. I'm telling everyone here what happened when I was
there. You can believe whatever
your dumbass wants to believe. You're only here to defend your friends
and I commend your loyalty to your peeps but I was there on the highway.
You're telling me I didn't experience what I know I experienced, so
that makes you an idiot and a liar. You're an idiot because you're dumb
enough to try to convince me of your version of the facts when I was
there in the traffic and you're a liar because your biased version is
not correct.

Calling me a troll doesn't change
anything but I guess that's what people say on the internet when they
can't think of anything more intelligent to close with. Yours was a sad attempt, my friend.

P.S. If you look at the other article the cops cite 5 accidents at the time of their protest.

Since it's not often I get to speak directly to stupid people who piss me off on the roadways, I want to extend a hearty 'fuck you' to you, good sir. I hope your stupidity has caused a lot of problems in your life and I furthermore hope it continues to cause you problems in every situation you find yourself in.

I agree that Obama is tyrannical and an asshole. But Obama's failures as a president doesn't excuse your failures as an intelligent United States citizen, which you clearly are not.

Furthermore I think you're a disgrace to the "don't tread on me" mantra. I wholeheartedly agree with this saying and I place a high value on my freedoms which the previous two presidents have shit all over. You are not a qualified representative of this set of beliefs.

@takon074@dicksonanoverpassJust to clarify the bullshit coming out of your overactive imagination, traffic around town wasn't really very bad at all. I was not caught in traffic anywhere else that day but the mile or two ahead of you dumb fucks on the highway. The highway cleared DIRECTLY AFTER the overpass. It didn't clear because of an offramp. It cleared because we passed you. I was there on the highway. I ended up here because you idiots inspired me to look up why you were on the overpass causing traffic issues.

@dicksonanoverpass@takon074 I should also mention that there was a follow-up protest with even MORE people the next weekend, however there was no HUGE TRAFFIC JAM or any accidents from 9am-3pm while I was there.

I guess we weren't enough of a dangerous distraction that day, just have to try harder next time.

Because they're designed for people walk on them to get from one end to the other. They're not designed for people to congregate in groups with signs and other obnoxiousness not the least of which is waving the US flag upside down (which is offensive to most average citizens of the United States) and try to solicit honks from people driving on the interstate below.

If you're not trying to distract drivers, who's supposed to honk at you?

If there's a shoulder on the highway why not go down on the shoulder*?

(*Fair warning this is a trick question, I'm probing you for an explanation I'm not actually condoning you go down to the shoulder. Since you're clearly sub-par on the intelligence scale I thought I'd give you the courtesy of the warning.)

People slow down when they approach unknown situations on the roadway. The overpass is as close to the roadway as you can get without physically being on it. Naturally, people's reaction is to slow down and assess the situation unfolding ahead of them. This slowdown caused a backup of traffic. I was in this traffic mess and it is the entire reason I've commented here. So just to reiterate, I didn't vote for Obama. I don't like him.
This is not politically motivated, I've already explained why I commented here.

You're friends with these people so naturally you want to defend them in public. But in doing so, your credibility is tarnished. Your bias is evident and you don't even make good points when you do try. But I'm sure you'll keep trying anyway.

I think the biggest reason people were slowing down during the time I was there was because you were waving the U.S. FLAG UPSIDE DOWN. This caused everyone to do a double-take "WTF?" and worry for a moment about what is happening ahead.

So answer me this: Were you idiots waving an upside down US Flag at the following weekend's protest? It seems like that practice may have stopped...

As a proud citizen of the United States with family members who served our country in the Marines (WWII) and Air Force (Vietnam) I say 'fuck you' to you. Anybody who disrespects the flag of the United States in public can just proceed with jumping off the nearest overpass for all I care.

It seems you're incapable of putting your wits to the test so you resort to hanging out on overpasses with signs where no-one can question you directly. "Hey everyone look at what I have to say, but don't try testing my mental agility because I'll flounder like an illiterate public school educated fish out of the water when I try to use the lump of mush between my ears."